All Forum Posts by: Timothy Church

@Michael Stokes

Good evening! 

There are plenty of great tools to use to minimize the need for a property manager. Honestly, in the end, all you need management wise is a handyman you trust to call for issues. Here are a few things I have set up.

I use AirBnB & VRBO for all of my bookings. Yes, there is money to be made doing direct booking and cutting out the middleman but you are lookings for less work, not more.

TurnoverBnB is a free app to use to automated scheduling cleaners. You can simply sync up your AirBnB & VRBO calendars and it will set up, alter, or cancel cleanings as needed. Also, one key thing to make life easier is making sure your cleaners stock your paper goods at a minimum. They should be the ones responsible for keeping the place full of paper towels and toilet paper. In fact, here in Galveston, I tell me cleaners that anything that needs to be replaced for under $100 does it! They make the trip to the store to get new sheets and even bedspreads. No sense me picking these up to bring to them when they can do it.

BeyondPricing - Great dynamic pricing tool to use to make sure you maximize your income. Cost 1% but greatly makes up for that in additional income.

AirGMS - I typically don't use management software but this software is free for your first 4 units and $20/unit when you have over 5. I used to use it for automating messages to guests.

GET A SMART LOCK! It doesn't need to be anything fancy. I use the base Schlage deadbolt keypads. I have a handful of entry codes programmed in that I will juggle between. Some people make the case of people having the code from before but the same could be said about physical keys. 

For 1% of your bookings, you have regularly scheduled cleaners, adjusted prices, easy access, and automatic messages. 

I have plenty of other little things that I do that I'd be happy to share if you have any questions! Best of luck!!

Good evening! I'd be happy to sit down with you and network. Feel free to DM me or simply text/call my number listed below!

It really depends on the level of work that you want to be done. I know people that will offer you a fair price on the project if there is a decent amount of work. For smaller things, I have had good luck finding Handymen through the Thumbtack app. You simply post your job and people will bid for it. It is much easier than trying to track down multiple people for quotes. I can't share contacts over the forum but if you would like to direct message me with information about what all you need to be done, I'd be happy to make a recommendation!

@Leisa Neal

I just answered on the other post you made. Talk to you soon!

Of course! For that size job, I'd recommend Marshall. I'll have to direct message you his contact as I can't share it on here. He did work on one of my commercial properties as well as worked with a few others of my investors. Does a great job and is reasonably priced. Let me know if it works out!

I know a few people depending on what kind of work you are looking for and what scale. If you could describe the work a bit, I'd be happy to recommend someone!

@Leisa Neal My personal ones are in town. I was managing quite a few for a while but we have our first little one on the way so I had to cut down on the workload. Mine have stayed well occupied! If you have questions about yours, I subscribe to AirDNA for the island and be happy to show you potential performance as well as other tools I use. Just PM me and we can grab coffee sometime!

@Leisa Neal Congrats!! As far as cleaning crews, I use 3 Broads & a Broom for most of my properties but have tried a few others with varying results. One of the main things is to focus on people with multiple cleaners vs a single person. With the summertime and quick turnovers, it can sometimes be more than a single person can handle if they are doing multiple properties.

Also, make sure your cleaners are willing to stock all goods needed so you can buy in bulk and keep them in an owners closet. 3 Broads & a Broom do this as well as buying me new linens or small things that need replacing!

The owner would not be able to owner finance as they don't have the ability to pay off the debt owed on the property without its sale. Even with the current situation, they will still be having to front at least $5k in order to pay off all debts and clear any liens. As a wholesaler, you'd be looking to just have someone buy the contract off of you. They will need to either get a new loan or see if it is possible to assume the existing loan. Just make sure that whatever buyer you find is fully informed in writing of the situation for full disclosure to keep yourself from being drug into anything bad that arises.

Rental rates truly depend on the house and location. We can get some incredible rates if you buy correctly and in areas that perform. I just rented two of my downtown lofts for $1650 each for a 2/2 with no parking. The issue that brings the average down and keeps some rents from going up to the level they should is older units. We have a large number of landlords that have held on to properties for a long time without rent increases. It's hard to compete with a property that's been paid off for a decade! Thankfully most of these are beginning to be sold off as their kids inherit them. I'm hoping over time these will be fixed up and increase our averages across the island.